Twist the knob and begin the adventure... (Bedknobs And Broomsticks (DVD))

Member Name: AmyAmy

Product:	Bedknobs And Broomsticks (DVD)
Date:	10/04/09 (139 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cast, plot, music

Disadvantages: /

When I discovered that a lot of the Disney DVDs were being re-released on DVD, I was ecstatic! I had been desperate to own all my childhood favourites, but could never find the ones I loved. Unfortunately, when I scanned the shelves in several shops, the Lion King: Simba's Pride was nowhere to be seen. I was gutted! That, along with the first Lion King film, was probably two of my three favourite childhood animated Disneys (The Aristocats being the third, of course!).

Despite my disappointment though I decided I should still take advantage of the fact that these rare DVDs were on offer; I may never have the chance again to add such amazing films to my collection! There didn't seem to be any cartoon films I fancied, so I set out to buy some 'real people' films ~ those where the characters on our screens are actually lifelike and not just drawn! Along with Mary Poppins, I purchased another childhood favourite, in the form of Bedknobs and Broomsticks!

I would spend hours in front of the TV when I was younger, happily playing away with a good Disney on in the background. Indeed, one of these was Bedknobs and Broomsticks. I think we had taped it from the TV one time as I don't actually remember seeing the front cover to this edition. So I took quite a while examining the wonders of the DVD case. The main background to it was a sky blue shade with the fresh green grass colour just visible at the bottom. Mounted on the scene there is a large image of some cartoon animals: the King lion (not to be mistaken with the Lion King!), a cheetah and a bizarre monkey thing. Behind these football-playing animals you can see a flying bed, with five people astride it, dressed in 1940s clothes. Straight away this conjures confusion and curiosity ~ how can animation and War time London be combined in one film? All was to be revealed...

Inserting the single DVD into the player, you are greeted by a little advert about the latest Disney DVD releases and their new bonus features. Seeing all my favourites together was indeed quite emotional, so I'm pleased it isn't too long before we are shown to the main menu. Here we have options to select a scene, or to tamper with the settings. Usually though the settings are bang on. There were also options called Speak Peek and Bonus Material. Though I always leave them till last so I went straight on with Play.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a film set on the outskirts of London, and revolves around the life of Eglantine Price and the three war evacuee children she looks after: Charlie, Carrie and Paul. Eglantine is taking a course in witchcraft which she tries to keep silent from the children, but when they discover her secret, she loosens her strict ways slightly and is forced to open up. The children are introduced to new adventures, as they and Eglantine are accompanied by Professor Emelius Browne. Miss Price puts her latest spell to practice, which is in the form of a bedknob, and travel to a different dimension on the bed. Here they find cartoon animals of all sorts, swimming with talking fish and matching wild animals to games of sport. It all seems like fun and games, but Eglantine's magic could just save the country during the war!

I must say, the one thing I love about this film, like its similars, is the fact that London accents are brimming! I adore the Cockney accent, and the majority of the cast speak so broadly it is amazing! The script is quite interesting too, one line I love in particular. Eglantine asks Paul for help, as she needs the bedknob back, and his reply to her pleed is, "What's that got to do with my knob?". A little humour there for the adult while the children can enjoy the gripping story! The presence of witchcraft always excites me too. From a young age I have always adores the wonders of witchcraft and astonishing magic, always awing at it. So many times I tried to copy things from the DVD, turning any bed knobs and trying to fly my little Halloween broomstick. I even tried to copy the impossible chants, and needless to say, I never got anywhere! The cat in the film is a little scabby, but very traditional and threatening.

Of course, the cast makes this film something extraordinary. The five main characters truly stand out throughout the entire film. Eglantine is played by Angela Lansbury. She's been in all sorts, from this to Sweeney Todd (1982), to Murder, She Wrote and Nanny McPhee. Then there's David Tomlinson, who plays Mr Browne. I never realised until now that he played Mr Banks in Mary Poppins, another favourite of mine. Unfortunately he passed away in 2000. Carrie was played by Cindy o'Callaghan, who has appeared in other shows such as the Bill, and shamelessly not to my attention, EastEnders. Roy Snart is the young actor who played Paul, and to my knowledge this is all he as appeared in, which if true is a great shame! This is the same for Ian Weighill, who played Charlie, again a great loss of talent if he moved on to other things. Bruce Forsyth also appeared in this, which of course I never realised as a child!

The soundtrack is quite interesting too. I am quite fascinated by War songs and Witch chant songs alike, and this movie is full of them! One i particularly like is the Home Guard song, sang by the Home Guard! Eglantine is a piece sang by David Tomlinson, a fantastic song which I have sung all these years. Though one of the best known songs is probably The Beautiful Briny, which is heard when the bed is "bobbing along on the bottom of the beautiful briny sea!". Love it!

The film has had a lot of nominations too and one an Academy Award. It won Special Visual Effects, which I would completely say it deserved! I mean how often can you combine animation and real people in the same film, with the technology that existed in the 1970s, and create such an amazing film?!

The story of the film is quite unique, but not on its own. Mary Poppins is very much similar. Both include a mysterious woman who has relation to magic and wonder, as well as both taking little London children to a land of cartoon! It even has the same character, in the form of David Tomlinson! Director Robert Stevenson also directed both films, and both were produced by Producer Bill Walsh. Clearly there are some significant similarities in the two, but that is not a problem as they are both fantastic films!

Now having enjoyed the two hours and ten minutes of the film, I decided to check out the added material. I went into Speak Peek first. This was simply a look back at some of the Disney classics, which I had already seen at the start so that wasn't too interesting! I went straight to the Bonus Material after, to see what was offered for me there! Here there was a section called Magical Mickey and another called Trick or Treat, which are both short little films starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. I have no idea why they chose to include them in this DVD but oh well! There is also a section called Music Magic, an appropriate title, which takes us through the music of the show. This I found was very entertaining and made up for the weaker sections!

This is definitely an amazing DVD, one of the greatest Disney films of all time! It has a certificate of U which is appropriate. Young children will find the music and the mystery very entertaining. Though I know at the age of about five to seven when I used to watch this I never truly understood what it was about, and its relation to Nazis (I didn't even know of Hitler until I was nine!). It's good for the adults too as there is a lot to relate to, and some mild humour there too!

I paid £15 for two Disney DVDs from Asda, as it was £10 each or two for £15. Though you can find them usually Buy One Get One Free at around £15-£17 in stores such as HMV or Tesco. It is definitely money well spent, not a penny wasted! It brings back so much memories for its original fans and provides hours of entertainment the whole family can enjoy!

© Amy 2009

Summary: /